Musk Sparks Controversy with New X Platform Account Tracking Feature

Elon Musk's X platform has accidentally exposed a massive network of fake pro-Trump accounts operating from countries like Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Thailand. The revelation came after X launched a new feature that shows users' actual locations, sparking an online investigation that revealed dozens of accounts pretending to be American Trump supporters were actually run from overseas.

X's head of product Nikita Bier rolled out the location feature last weekend, calling it "an important first step to ensuring the integrity of the global town square." The tool was meant to boost transparency on a platform that tech experts say is flooded with misinformation.

But the feature quickly backfired in ways X probably didn't expect. Users immediately started hunting down suspicious accounts and found that many popular "Make America Great Again" supporters claiming to be in the US were actually operating from foreign countries.

NewsGuard, which tracks online misinformation, analyzed some of these fake pro-Trump accounts and found they had posted 31 pieces of false content over the past 15 months. The posts included bogus claims about Democratic Party corruption and other political disinformation.

The location data confirmed what researchers had suspected during the 2024 election campaign. They had warned about networks of MAGA accounts pretending to be "independent women supporting Trump" using stolen photos of European models and influencers.

Benjamin Strick from the London-based Information Resilience Centre told AFP that many of these fake American women were actually located in Thailand, with some connected to Myanmar. "Before this change, we could prove these accounts were fake, but we barely knew their source," he said. "Now we can see that many accounts in this specific network are linked to Southeast Asia."

X warned that location data "may not be accurate and may change periodically." Users can also hide their real locations using VPNs. Bier promised a Sunday update would bring accuracy "close to 99.99%."

The feature raised privacy concerns too. Some users worried it could expose dissidents and protesters in authoritarian countries. Bier said the platform offers privacy options for users in countries that "punish free speech," showing only regional rather than specific locations.

Several high-profile fake accounts disappeared quickly after being exposed. One account impersonating an Ivanka Trump fan, which had gathered a million followers while posting pro-Trump and anti-Islam content, was suspended after users noticed it was based in Nigeria.

The timing matters for global politics and social media regulation. As tech platforms cut back on content moderation and reduce human fact-checkers, disinformation researchers warn about growing threats from Russian and Chinese actors trying to create political chaos in Western countries. There's also concern about foreign influencers motivated purely by financial gain.

Amy Bruckman from Georgia Tech said the new feature "highlights a fundamental problem with social media today, where paid actors deliberately stir up controversial issues to grab attention." She added that "we need trustworthy platforms that prevent bad behavior."

The revelations come as X continues major staff cuts. In October, the company laid off half its engineering team responsible for fighting harmful influences, spam, and illegal content, according to The Information. This reflects a broader shift toward replacing human moderators with artificial intelligence systems.

For investors and governments watching social media regulation, this incident shows how easily foreign actors can manipulate political discourse on major platforms. It also demonstrates the ongoing challenge of balancing transparency with user privacy and safety.